Success can be deceptive. A company can be profitable, a nonprofit can hit its metrics, a program can be funded, and a leader can keep delivering results – and still be out of alignment with the future they say they want to build.
The question is not simply, “Is this working?” The better question is,
“Is this working toward where we say we are going?”
That is where mission, vision, and values become more than statements. They become frameworks for decision-making. Your mission should clarify why the work matters. Your vision should shape what you are building toward. Your values should influence how decisions are made along the way. If those three things do not affect where you invest, what you measure, what you redesign, what you stop doing, and what you build next, they are not actually guiding the organization.
Success Can Hide Misalignment
Failure usually gets our attention quickly. Success can do the opposite.
A program may be well attended and still create barriers for the people it was intended to serve. A company may be growing while its systems, leadership structure, or financial infrastructure are no longer equipped for the next level. A nonprofit may continue funding an established program because it has always worked, even when the community, market, or mission has evolved.
The same thing happens personally. A leader can continue performing at a high level while quietly realizing that the future being built no longer matches the future they actually want.
Working and aligned are not the same thing.
Misalignment has a cost. It can show up in resources being invested in work that no longer advances the vision, teams carrying programs that have outlived their purpose, or leaders making decisions based on precedent instead of strategy. It can also show up when organizations measure what is easiest to report rather than what matters most.
Vision Should Change Today’s Decisions
A vision statement should not describe a future that has no influence on the present. It should force better questions.
Are our current programs moving us toward the future we say we want? Are our systems designed for the people we intend to serve? Are our resources aligned with our highest priorities? Are we continuing something because it is effective, or simply because it is familiar?
And perhaps the most important question is this:
If we keep operating exactly as we are today, will the organization we’ll have created five or ten years from now actually fulfill our mission?
That is strategic alignment: Alignment is the discipline of comparing today’s decisions with tomorrow’s vision.
The Alignment Test
Before continuing, expanding, funding, or scaling something, leaders should ask five questions:
Mission: Does this still serve why we exist? Is it actually working for the people it was designed to serve?
Values: Are we doing it in a way that reflects how we say we operate?
Vision: Does this move us toward where we want to go? If we continue this for the next five or ten years, are we building what we want to become?
These questions matter for organizations, but they also matter personally. The hardest thing to change is not always what failed. Sometimes it is what succeeded. Failure forces reflection. Success can postpone it. You do not have to wait until something is broken to decide that something needs to evolve.
Alignment Requires Courage Before Crisis
The goal is not constant change. The goal is intentional alignment.
That means keeping what still serves the vision, strengthening what needs to evolve, redesigning what creates barriers, and stopping the investment of time, money, or energy in work that no longer takes you where you intend to go.
The strongest leaders do not wait until circumstances force change. They are willing to examine what is working and still ask whether it deserves to continue.
That is not failure: It is leadership. It is strategy and it is alignment.
Are you willing to switch gears from what is working with what is aligned to the vision you have for tomorrow?
AI & Authenticity Disclaimer: The ideas, frameworks, lessons, lived experiences, and professional perspective reflected in this article are Bridget B Espinosa’s. AI may be used to research, organize, refine, finesse, or format outlines and outputs. Bridget personally performs the final edit and retains final authorship and approval.
Every year around my birthday, I choose a word to help shape the year ahead. This year, one word kept showing up again and again in my journal:
MÁS.
I have experienced a lot of loss over the last few years, and I am rebuilding a life that truly feels like mine.
That rebuilding has come with growth, change, difficult decisions, and more than a few growing pains.
But it has also created clarity.
Clarity about what matters. Clarity about what I value. Clarity about the kind of life and work I am choosing next.
That is part of why MÁS feels so important to me this year.
I am deeply grateful for the life I have built, the work I get to do, the people I love, the communities that have welcomed me, and the opportunities that have brought me here. I treasure my family, the people who have loved me through every version of myself, and for the privilege of watching my children build lives of their own.
MÁS is about expansion.
It is about continuing to evolve while staying grounded in the values that have guided both me and my work: integrity, communication, collaboration, authenticity and growth.
MÁS impact.
More stages and microphones.
More opportunities to speak, teach, facilitate and lead conversations that matter.
More workshops. More partnerships. More international work.
More meaningful collaborations that connect people, businesses and communities.
More creative work.
More financial stability. More profitable work. More clients and partnerships that value the expertise behind the work.
MÁS life.
More energy and strength.
More rest and wellness.
More dancing. More live music. More travel. More cities I have yet to discover.
More sand and sea. More sunsets and full moons.
More friendship. More connection. More deep conversations and laughter.
More adventures.
More saying yes.
More experiences that become stories worth telling.
MÁS is not a declaration that I already have everything I need. It is a decision about what I am willing to pursue, build, receive and create next.
MÁS of what matters.
More freedom.
More generosity.
More learning.
More possibility.
More memories.
More moments of surprise.
More opportunities to use everything I have learned so far in ways I have not yet imagined.
I can be deeply grateful for what I have built and still be honest about wanting (and needing!) more.
MÁS means growth with intention: more stability, more opportunity, more joy, and a life and business that feel increasingly sustainable and aligned.
I also know that 54 years of living, learning, teaching, building businesses, making mistakes, solving problems and starting again have given me something valuable: experience. I intend to use it.
At 54, I am not interested in becoming an entirely different person. I truly love the woman, entrepreneur, coach, author and professional speaker I have become.
I am simply ready for more of the life and work that feel most like me.
Chapter 54 is about holding gratitude and ambition at the same time.
It is about being grateful for what already exists while remaining open, intentional and courageous about what comes next.
This year, MÁS is not about pretending that everything is easy or already figured out.
It is about refusing to confuse a difficult season with a future so extraordinary that I still cannot imagine it.
Not because it didn’t sting for a split second—it did. I’m human. But within seconds, my friend Amie and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Miss Piggy? I’ll take it! She’s a bad-ass-bitch!”
Honestly… we discussed it at length.
TBH – That’s one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. LOL
The older I get, the more I realize that many of the women we were taught to laugh at were actually decades ahead of their time. Somewhere along the way, confidence became arrogance if it belonged to a woman. Ambition became “too much.” Glamour became vanity. Standards became “high maintenance.”
Maybe we misunderstood Miss Piggy all along. Looking back, I don’t think many of us realized we were watching one of our first feminist icons.
If I’m honest, this wouldn’t have been funny twenty years ago.
It probably wouldn’t have been funny ten years ago either.
There was a time when a comment like that would have sent me spiraling. I would have questioned my worth, picked apart my appearance, started another diet, and wondered if everyone else secretly agreed.
But something has changed.
Over the last few years, I’ve done the hard work of healing my relationship with my body. Not because I’ve reached some magical goal weight or suddenly fit society’s definition of “perfect,” but because I finally realized my life doesn’t begin when my body changes.
My body has carried me through heartbreak, entrepreneurship, reinvention, laughter, loss, and more second chances than I can count. It deserves movement because I respect it. It deserves nourishment because it serves me. And it deserves joy—right now, not twenty pounds from now.
That’s why you’ll find me dancing in a bikini.
Not because I think I have the “perfect” body.
Because I’ve finally stopped believing I need one to deserve a beautiful life.
So when someone called me “Miss Piggy,” they thought they were commenting on my body.
What they didn’t realize is that I no longer measure my worth by someone else’s opinion of it.
She Never Asked for Permission
Miss Piggy never walked into a room wondering whether she belonged there.
She simply assumed she did.
Imagine how different our lives would be if more women stopped waiting for permission to take up space.
How many of us have stayed quiet in meetings?
How many of us have made ourselves smaller so someone else could feel bigger?
How many of us have apologized for having a big personality, a big vision, or big dreams?
Miss Piggy never apologized for being seen.
She Wanted More—and She Never Apologized for It
She wanted beautiful clothes.
She wanted success.
She wanted adventure.
She wanted love.
She wanted applause.
And she said it out loud.
Somewhere along the way, women were taught that wanting more was selfish. We were told to be grateful, to be content, to avoid looking “too ambitious.”
But why?
Why is it admirable when a man dreams bigger, yet questionable when a woman does?
Lately I’ve been saying something often:
I deserve more of me, more time, more joy, more love, and yes… more money.
Not because I deserve more than anyone else.
Because I’ve finally stopped believing I deserve less.
She Loved Kermit…
Everyone remembers Miss Piggy chasing Kermit.
That’s the joke.
But that’s not what I remember.
I remember a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.
She wanted partnership.
She wanted commitment.
She wanted someone who celebrated her.
Did Kermit always give her that?
No.
But here’s what I love about Miss Piggy.
She never stopped being Miss Piggy while waiting for Kermit to figure himself out.
She didn’t give up her career.
She didn’t stop performing.
She didn’t stop dreaming.
She didn’t shrink herself hoping he’d love her more.
As someone who has spent much of her life giving too much of herself away, that lesson hits differently today than it would have ten years ago.
Wanting love doesn’t make you weak.
Losing yourself trying to earn it does.
Because I am a Woman!
She Took Up Space
Physically.
Emotionally.
Professionally.
Socially.
She wasn’t trying to become easier to digest.
She wasn’t trying to become less.
How many women spend decades trying to become smaller?
Smaller bodies.
Smaller dreams.
Smaller voices.
Smaller expectations.
Smaller personalities.
For years, I believed that if I could just become a little more this… or a little less that… life would somehow become easier.
Now I think differently.
I don’t want to become smaller.
I want to become more aligned.
There’s a difference.
She Loved Glamour Without Apology
Pink.
Sequins.
Pearls.
High heels.
Confidence.
Femininity.
Strength.
Somewhere along the way, society created a false choice.
Be intelligent or beautiful.
Be strong or feminine.
Be successful or kind.
Miss Piggy rejected all of it.
She reminded us that femininity is not weakness.
Never has been.
Never will be.
She Wasn’t Perfect
Let’s be honest.
She was dramatic.
She could be vain.
She had a temper.
She absolutely karate chopped people.
She was messy.
But maybe that’s exactly why she mattered.
We’ve spent decades expecting women to become perfect before we allow them to become powerful.
Men are allowed to be flawed leaders.
Women are expected to be flawless before they’re even heard.
Miss Piggy refused to wait for perfection.
She simply showed up.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The world told women to become smaller. Miss Piggy never got the memo. Neither did I.
Maybe We’ve Been Laughing at the Wrong Thing
Today, I don’t just talk about prioritizing yourself—I try to live it. Sometimes that looks like making a difficult decision. Sometimes it looks like starting over. And sometimes, it looks like dancing in a bikini because you’ve finally decided your body doesn’t have to earn the right to experience joy.
The woman who called me Miss Piggy thought she was commenting on my appearance.
What I heard was something entirely different.
Bold.
Confident.
Unapologetic.
Visible.
Ambitious.
Larger than life.
Independent.
Resilient.
Thank you.
I’ll take every one of those.
Because today I understand something that took me nearly five decades to learn.
I don’t need to become smaller to make other people comfortable.
I don’t need permission to dream bigger.
I don’t need to apologize for taking up space.
I don’t need to settle for relationships, opportunities, or expectations that ask me to become less of myself.
I can build businesses.
I can start over.
I can reinvent my life.
I can say my dreams out loud.
I can prioritize myself.
And if that makes me Miss Piggy…
I’ll wear the pearls proudly.
Miss Piggy is a beloved fictional character created by Jim Henson and now part of The Muppets franchise. This article is a personal reflection on the cultural impact of the character and the lessons I’ve chosen to take from her.
PS – This blog was written with the help of AI. The experience, idea, edits, & errors are my own. – Bridget.
For years, I thought I was teaching business strategy.
Then I thought I was teaching alignment.
Today, I realize I’ve been teaching something much bigger.
I’ve been helping people to design the life that they want to live.
I’ve been helping people become more themselves.
Not a “better” version. Not a perfect version. Not someone else’s version.
The most authentic version of who they already are.
The people I work with aren’t looking for another motivational quote or another checklist.
They’re looking for permission. Sometimes all it takes is for someone else to tell you to go for it.
Permission to change. Permission to grow. Permission to leave what no longer fits. Permission to dream bigger. Permission to take up space.
I’ve learned that growth can’t happen if we don’t believe that we deserve to live our dreams.
Growth happens because we finally realize we are worth investing in.
That belief has shaped every major decision I’ve made.
Pillar 1: Alignment
Everything begins with alignment.
When your life no longer reflects your values, you feel it. You may not have the words yet, but your energy, relationships, work, and health begin telling the story.
One of the biggest shifts in my own life was recognizing that work-life balance wasn’t what I wanted.
I wanted alignment.
That realization eventually became my book, Harmony Aligned, and completely changed how I coach women today.
Alignment isn’t about doing less.
It’s about making decisions that reflect who you are becoming.
Pillar 2: Authenticity
Authenticity isn’t a branding strategy.
It’s a way of living.
For years I’ve built business and a life that reflects who I am: bilingual, entrepreneurial, community-centered, deeply connected to both Detroit and Mexico.
I’ve stopped trying to fit into one category.
I am a business strategist. I am an educator. I am an author. I am a professional speaker. I am an entrepreneur. I am a nonprofit leader. I am a coach.
The more I embraced and integrated all of those identities instead of choosing just one, the more my work began attracting the right people.
Authenticity creates clarity, even when it looks confusing from the outside.
Pillar 3: Self-Trust
Sometimes self-trust looks much smaller than people expect.
After my separation from Paco, I switched sides of the bed.
There wasn’t some profound reason.
I just did.
Years later I realized I had never switched back.
That tiny decision reminded me of something much bigger.
Life is rebuilt one small choice at a time.
Self-trust isn’t always dramatic.
Sometimes it’s simply allowing yourself to choose differently without needing to justify it.
Pillar 4: Courage
Courage isn’t the absence of fear.
It’s action before certainty.
I’ve built, failed and rebuilt my business. I created something that never existed.
I’ve hired and led teams.
I’ve started over more than once.
I’ve applied for opportunities that scared me, including TEDx. (Fingers still crossed!)
I’ve chosen to build a life between two countries because it reflects the life I want—not necessarily the easier one.
Every one of those decisions required courage long before confidence arrived.
Confidence follows courage.
Not the other way around.
Pillar 5: Growth
Growth is a lifelong decision.
I’ve failed.
I’ve pivoted.
I’ve started over.
I’ve continuously launched new projects, programs & platforms. I have closed chapters that no longer fit, written a book, raised my coaching prices when I finally recognized the value I bring, and continued learning every step of the way.
None of those decisions came from believing I wasn’t enough.
They came from believing I was worth investing in.
Growth is an act of self-respect.
Pillar 6: Joy
Joy isn’t something we earn after success.
It’s something we create along the way.
You’ll find me dancing.
Swimming in the ocean.
Traveling.
Laughing with friends.
Speaking on stage.
Singing.
Exploring new places.
Those aren’t distractions from my purpose.
They are expressions of it.
The fullest version of ourselves isn’t found only at work.
It’s found in the moments when we feel completely alive.
That is the life I’m choosing to build.
And that’s the life I want to help other women build, too.
Because becoming more yourself may be the bravest thing you’ll ever do.
I have decided to eliminate the word “busy” from my vocabulary. My life is full.I am never too busy to connect with people that bring value and meaning to my life.
One of the greatest benefits and goals of entrepreneurship – when it is planned correctly – is that you have more control over your time.
When you look to add or remove tasks from your calendar – ask yourself:
“What people and activities provide value and meaning to my life / my business?”
This is how I created a FULL life and not a busy one:
Be present wherever you are.* Make this a stated value of your company and your life.
Be intentional about how you manage your calendar and prioritize how you spend your time. (The word INTENTION was my annual theme in 2020.
Have a clear mission and vision, use those as your barometer. Our Puente and XPM missions are written, published and reviewed frequently. Understand your “WHY”. (I highly recommend the TedTalk and book, Start with Why by Simon Sinek.)
Accept that your to-do list will never be completed and that is okay. Your work day and work week must end and there will always be another day. Shut the computer, turn of the phone, if possible. Keep lists, but learn to put them away. Take time each day/week for yourself, for your family, friends, for non-work related activities. (See #1*)
Seek Harmony in your life. Reject the myth of work-life balance – it sets you up for a teeter-totter of failure. (Read my previous blog on Harmony here – it our 2023 Annual Theme.)
Sleep 7-8 hours at least six days a week! I protect my sleeping hours. If you are tired, you will always feel stressed and like you do not have enough time. If you are rested, you will be more productive! (I have been known to cancel or reschedule morning meetings in the middle of the night if I am struggling with insomnia or ended up going to bed way too late for whatever reason.)
Create a team. Surround yourself with good people – hire out your weaknesses, work in your strengths. If you can’t afford an employee yet, form partnerships or hire subcontractors and interns. (Hiring a good employee is the best investment you can make in your business!)
For those thatfollow me on social media, you know I always find time for the beach, my family, live music, happy hour, and networking events!
These activities bring me joy and they provide value and meaning to my life. For years, I rarely missed my boys’ soccer games, banquets, band concerts, or performances. My husband and I prioritized date nights and took vacations to visit friends and family. I live in both Michigan and Mexico – coming home for important family holidays and events: Thanksgiving, Christmas and NYE, Paco’s birthday, Diego’s farewell party, my mom’s birthday, and Mother’s Day. Spending time, especially holidays, with my family and friends is one of my core values.*
I hate it when people tell me I am “too busy”. I will always make time and prioritize people and opportunities to connect. It’s all about determining what you value.
If this resonated with you, you’ll also enjoy this video clip by Darria Long – I’m including both the clip and the full video down below.
Mi vida está llena – No estoy “demasiado ocupada”
He decidido eliminar la palabra “ocupada” de mi vocabulario. Mi vida está llena. Nunca estoy demasiado ocupada para conectarme con personas que aportan valor y significado a mi vida.
Uno de los mayores beneficios y objetivos del emprendimiento – cuando se planifica correctamente – es que tienes más control sobre tu tiempo.
Cuando busques agregar o eliminar tareas de tu calendario, pregúntate: “¿Qué personas y actividades aportan valor y significado a mi vida / mi negocio?” Así es como creé una vida LLENA y no una ocupada:
Sé presente dondequiera que estés.* Haz de esto un valor declarado de tu empresa y tu vida.
Sé intencional sobre cómo manejas tu calendario y prioriza cómo pasas tu tiempo. (La palabra INTENCIÓN fue mi tema anual en 2020. Leer más.
Tener una misión y visión claras, úsalas como tu barómetro. Nuestras misiones de Puente y XPM están escritas, publicadas y revisadas frecuentemente. Entiende tu “POR QUÉ”. (Recomiendo altamente el TedTalk y el libro, Comienza con el Por Qué de Simon Sinek.)
Acepta que tu lista de tareas nunca se completará y eso está bien. Tu día laboral y semana laboral deben terminar y siempre habrá otro día. Cierra la computadora, apaga el teléfono, si es posible. Mantén listas, pero aprende a guardarlas. Tómate un tiempo cada día/semana para ti, para tu familia, amigos, para actividades no relacionadas con el trabajo. (Ver #1*)
Busca la Armonía en tu vida. Rechaza el mito del equilibrio entre trabajo y vida personal – te prepara para un fracaso de sube y baja. (Lee mi blog anterior sobre Armonía aquí – es nuestro Tema Anual 2023.)
¡Duerme 7-8 horas al menos seis días a la semana! Protejo mis horas de sueño. Si estás cansada, siempre sentirás estrés y como si no tuvieras suficiente tiempo. Si estás descansada, ¡serás más productiva! (Se sabe que he cancelado o reprogramado reuniones matutinas en medio de la noche si estoy luchando con insomnio o terminé acostándome demasiado tarde por cualquier razón.)
Crea un equipo. Rodéate de buenas personas – externaliza tus debilidades, trabaja en tus fortalezas. Si aún no puedes permitirte una empleada, forma asociaciones o contrata subcontratistas y pasantes. (¡Contratar a una buena empleada es la mejor inversión que puedes hacer en tu negocio!)
Para aquellas que me siguen en redes sociales, saben que siempre encuentro tiempo para la playa, mi familia, música en vivo, happy hour y eventos de networking.
Estas actividades me brindan alegría y aportan valor y significado a mi vida. Durante años, rara vez me perdí los partidos de fútbol de mis hijos, banquetes, conciertos de banda o actuaciones. Mi esposo y yo priorizamos las noches de cita y tomamos vacaciones para visitar amigos y familiares. Vivo tanto en Michigan como en México – regresando a casa para importantes fiestas y eventos familiares: Acción de Gracias, Navidad y Año Nuevo, el cumpleaños de Paco, la fiesta de despedida de Diego, el cumpleaños de mi madre y el Día de la Madre. Pasar tiempo, especialmente las fiestas, con mi familia y amigos es uno de mis valores fundamentales.*
Odio cuando la gente me dice que estoy “demasiado ocupada”. Siempre haré tiempo y priorizaré a personas y oportunidades para conectar. Se trata de determinar lo que valoras.
Si esto te resonó, también disfrutarás de este videoclip de Darria Long. Estoy incluyendo el video completo a continuación.
By Bridget B. Espinosa, Puente Cultural Integration
“Balance” is a misguided metaphor because it conveys the idea that we have to give up the prospect of success in one part of our lives in order to have it in another part—one or the other. ” Stewart Friedman
This perfectly explains why I reject this idea of “work life balance” and embrace the idea of HARMONY!
For years we have been told that we need to find a work-life balance. There is no such thing. This is a myth that does nothing but generate stress, and frustration. Having studied music in my youth, I have been drawn to the word harmony. Harmony is different from balance, it reflects the idea that there can be multiple layers working together in a pleasing way. There are many definitions of harmony, but the easiest to understand and achieve I found on yourdictionary.com “A combination of parts into a pleasing or orderly whole; congruity or agreement in feeling, action, ideas, interests, etc.; peaceable or friendly relations.”
We often use the word harmony to describe both the environment and our relationships – living in harmony is a common mantra. However, it is an uncommon description of our internal relationships with our responsibilities. Harmony is not difficult to achieve if you accept that different aspects of your life will be “singing the melody” while other factors provide the harmony. This metaphor shows that our family, work, social, health, and community lives can all live alongside one another – each one can take its turn providing the fundamental melody and our lives can be just as harmonious and beautiful regardless of which takes the lead.
Harmony represents the world I want to live in: people of many backgrounds, races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientation, sizes, professions, abilities, languages, all connected – different voices, religions, cultures, perspectives, opiniones, ideas – all living in harmony.
Important to the analogy is when even one note is played or sung wrong the whole chord sound awful! When even one part of your life is out of whack, your whole life can feel like it’s falling apart. But the reality is that the adjustment to find harmony again is usually just a small tweak. When one person in the choir or one instrument in the band is out of tune, you have two choices:
In a rehearsal, you pause for a moment, address the issue and then start over making the correction.
In a live performance (aka real life), you just keep going. Normally the issue will work itself out, but if the problem continues you need to figure out what is causing the harmonies to go array and make the changes necessary so that it won’t happen again.
Based on a thorough review of the literature we introduce an integrated conceptualization of work-life balance involving two key dimensions: engagement in work life and nonwork life …
So F%^& this whole idea of “Work-Life Balance”, toss it out the window and just seek harmony.
I love listening to amazing vocal harmonies of diverse and talented singers. I sang for my entire youth and music continues to play an impactful role in my life. I searched for harmonies on youtube and found this incredible video. One of my former colleague’s sons is even featured in the best harmonies of 2021. This is soooo worth the time to take a listen and visualize these voices as the different elements of your life and how they can find harmony with one another.
The word ‘Harmony’ has been following me over the last year!
I was asked to sit on the advisory board of Detroit Harmony, an initiative led by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra to provide musical instruments and experiences to every child in the City of Detroit.
My friend Laura LaBrie rebranded her Mysterious Mexico platforms to Maya Harmony. I have been following the Maya calendar, The Sacred Tzolk’in, trying to learn how to align my life to find the harmony that often eludes us.
Sacred Maya Calendar – The Path to Life
“The Sacred Tzolk’in is the story of humankind wrapped in a calendar, reminding us daily of our journey from birth into the heart of the Divine. We cycle endlessly through the story, reliving each chapter every 20 days. And so, the wheel turns, its path reminding us of our own story. And if we come into alignment with it, we come into alignment with the Heart of Sky, the Great Spirit. And when we come into alignment, we find balance, we find center, our lives come into flow, things go well with us, and we find our place in the Universe. And when we find our place in the Universe, we discover our connection to the One Heart that is in all and is all. “
I love this question:
“And so, as the Maya greet each other, I ask you, “Bix a bel? How is YOUR path?”
Another one of my passion projects is a weekly summer strolling music festival called Corktown Sounds. I have the honor to work with small businesses, musicians, and my team provides the content creation for this very cool event in Detroit. Shameless plug: We are hosting a Corktown Sounds Benefit Concert on February 4th. Tickets are on sale now!
I believe that we can have some really interesting discussions regarding harmony in our lives. Join the discussion and give your experiences regarding how to embrace harmony in:
Relationships
Work
Business
Health
Travel
Finances
??
What areas of your life need more harmony?
Here are other articles and blogs that embrace Harmony vs. Balance:
Our word for 2022 is ANCHORED. Puente Cultural Integration spent all of 2020 living with INTENTION and all of 2021 DEVELOPing our team, new programs, new platforms, new partnerships. We will revisit this metaphoric ANCHOR frequently, understanding that we are anchored with room to move, to ride the waves, but that our foundation is strong. We are rooted and connected to our community around us, connected to partnerships, connected to our clients, and connected as a team.
Definition of ANCHOR: A source of security or stability.
“At its core of most anchor symbolism, though, lies strength, faith, and hope. When a ship’s captain calls for the anchor to be dropped, it’s to stabilize and secure the craft, even in the stormiest of waters.”
a device usually of metal attached to a ship or boat by a cable and cast overboard to hold it in a particular place by means of a fluke that digs into the bottom
Preparing Your Anchor: “Be sure the anchor line is strong and long enough to anchor [your boat]. A good rule of thumb is that the length of the line should be at least seven to ten times the depth of the water where you are setting anchor.”
As I read the quote above, I reflected on the length of my line. I currently have a team of four talented, bilingual women in Detroit and we’ve just added our first male to the staff. In Puerto Morelos, I have my business partner and our contracted webmaster. So now Puente is a team of eight. In addition to our staff, we have just over 150 partners and clients. With this team, we will go far in 2022! Goals … 7×10
Hope you find your anchor in 2022!
Bridget B. Espinosa CEO, Puente Cultural Integration
This seemingly never-ending global pandemic has provoked so much change and challenge over the last two years. As we hear of new variants, flights cancelled, restrictions recommended and with the future uncertain, it is easy to sink into complacency or dispair. Our team at Puente Cultural Integration never stopped working for our clients. From the day we suspected a looming shut-down in early 2020, we tried to predict what our clients would need to survive. Little did we know what long-term effects and toll it would take on all of us. It will forever change the way we move, relate, and work in this world. I pray that in some ways, the change is for the better.
Change and challenge are good, but we never expected this much. Sometimes change and challenge provide opportunities for growth. It has been a crazy couple of years, that is for sure. I am reflecting on these last two years and looking forward to what the future holds. As we adapted and developed new programs this year, we never lost sight of our original Puente mission: “To ensure that [our clients] have equitable access to opportunities and resources.”
In January of 2020, Puente hired its first two part-time employees from Southwest Detroit, Mayra & Allyssa. I shared with them that my five year goal was to be able to work virtually so that I could travel the world and continue to lead Puente with a strong team in Detroit. Little did we know that in just a couple short months, we would be thrown into constant Zoom meetings.
Two weeks into the pandemic, in March of 2020, my closest colleague, Monica Casarez, passed away from COVID-19. Her loss was felt every single day as we supported our immigrant entrepreneurs without her. My instinct was to crawl into bed and pull the covers up over my head. But knowing that I had a team of 4-6 employees & interns waiting for my direction everyday and that our clients needed us more than ever propelled us forward with our consistent mantra of “Who needs our help today?” We spent all of 2020 in triage mode. (Reflection 2020 – Summary, January 2020)
To add to the challenges of these past two years, my youngest graduated in June 2021 after a crazy Senior year. We survived it. Schools have had even more challenges since I shared my thoughts on educating our children with Grace in Times of Covid in August of 2020. As referenced above, we are still experiencing loss. But if we continue to live with intention, we can manifest what we desire, regardless of the world around us.
More Changes and Challenges
Then at the beginning of this 2021, my work contracts got flipped upside down and inside out. Within three months, four major programs and contracts ended. The final one without notice or transition. I grieved. I felt like everything we had worked so hard for had been stripped from me, all the pro bono hours we invested, all the grants we wrote, and the successful programs we created in 2018-2020 were just “done”. I struggled with my fight or flight instincts. Should I just throw in the towel? Close my business & go find a <gulp> “job”? I had employees that counted on me. How would I pay them? I had clients who needed me. How would I get paid to help them?
On February 2nd, 2021 it was over. I actually breathed a sigh of relief after the months of uncertainty and stress and then I cried. I took one day. Cancelled all my meetings. Told my staff we’d figure it out. I’d take out a personal loan if I needed to – but they could trust they’d have their paycheck on the 15th. Made phone calls. I was on my own. So what next?
I had committed in January to #Develop2021, but what did that mean now that I was no longer contracted by a nonprofit organization and the over $500K in grant money for programs I had created no longer was available to my clients or my team?
It meant we would start over. (To Be Continued …)
Read more about how we adapted, changed, challenged and grew in 2021 and will continue to develop in 2022.
2021 New Programs and Success
Puente Cultural Integration, LLC – Team of 4 in Detroit / Team of 3 in Puerto Morelos
“In Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez shows that public appearances do not always reflect private reality.” Litcharts Thematic Analysis.
I have been standing on the sidelines on the “Back to School” debate. There is no perfect solution. Virtual, Remote, Face to Face (F2F), Oh, my! There are too many feelings, too many opinions, too many unknowns. I am passionate about the topic, but I am giving my local educational leaders the grace to do their jobs. They are agonizing over every detail. They are not sleeping. They have worked nonstop with no clear idea where they were headed. Please show them grace.
Give Grace in the Time of COVID.
To paraphrase a common saying: You never know what someone else is going through, so my prayer for us all is that we give each other grace. We are truly living in unprecedented times. We are in the middle of a global pandemic that has lasted the better (worse?) part of 2020. For most people, this is one of the most difficult times we have ever experienced. So many of us have lost a friend*, a family-member, a colleague. Over 160,000 people have lost their lives to the Coronavirus and over 5 million people have tested positive, according to the CDC as of August 10, 2020. Every teacher I know (and I know a lot!) are struggling with their own fears about remote learning and going back into buildings that are impossible to keep clean. They are conflicted by their own desire to be back in their classrooms with the children they love and keeping themselves and their own loved ones safe. I beg of you to please support your children’s teachers and administrators. I beg of you to avoid criticism. Remember the “Teachers are Heros” feeling we all had last spring? Honor the teachers in your life in some way. Send them a note, a Starbucks card, flowers, a case of wine … but most of all, let them know that you empathize with this impossible situation. Most teachers are empaths, they feel everything very deeply. They are feeling attacked in the “comments” right now – so it is incredibly important FOR OUR CHILDREN that teachers feel supported. Minimally, send your teacher friends a DM/text to tell them you are there for them and send your child’s teacher an email the first week of school and let them know that you are an ally.
Give Grace in the Time of COVID.
We each have our own perspective due to multiple factors: health, economic, socio-political, educational, and even our mental state will influence our decisions. As a former high school teacher, as the mother of an incoming high school senior, and as the sister and daughter of first grade teachers, I have a unique perspective on back to school challenges.
I had incredibly high expectations for my high school junior last spring. This year, I will be giving both my senior and my freshman in college grace. My expectation is that they feel successful and that they stay healthy and content. I will be giving myself grace as well. Although I am not currently a classroom teacher, I will always be an educator. It is difficult to not go overboard. We will do our best, whatever that looks like. We will give each other grace. In addition, my advice to myself – stop engaging with trolls who do not have skin in the game. There are too many opinions that, frankly, do not matter – those who have never stepped foot in a classroom as a parent or an educator, those who were never a room mom, those who have never comforted an anxious child before a big test/presentation/event/game, etc.
There is no room in this conversation for those without empathy for every educator, for every parent, and for every child. Those of us who have children – all with unique needs & dispositions must give each other grace to make the best choice we feel meets the needs of our individual children and our individual family. Be patient with school leaders. Refrain from criticizing your child, refrain from criticizing your friends and the decision they make for their family, and most of all refrain from criticizing your child’s teacher. Seek to empathize. Give yourself grace.
Give Grace in the Time of COVID.
Let me be clear where I stand on the issue of getting us back to school. I want my child to go back to school. I will send him when it is deemed safe. My 17 year old will be starting his senior year of high school online in three weeks. His brother was blessed to have graduated in 2019, pre-COVID, and I pray that my youngest gets to have all of the milestones: the Senior Night for Varsity Soccer, awards ceremonies and banquets, the Senior Prom, graduation and graduation parties. This child and his classmates have had enough disruption due to our school district’s reorganization, having to switch both elementary schools and middle schools! But more than anything, I’d like my child to be alive. He will survive an online senior year, if needed. He will have stories to share and he will figure out a way to start over when we get this pandemic under control. However, as much as I want him back in a classroom, I am disturbed by the lack of leadership, the lack of direction, the lack of funding (over generations), and most of all the lack of understanding about what actually happens day to day in every school, in every city, throughout the United States. The lack of empathy for all of the adults that will be put at risk, who have dedicated their lives to work with our children has been shocking to me. You cannot have a discussion about students without taking into consideration all of the adults that educate and care for them.
I must add that I am also a passionate advocate for social justice. I am acutely aware of the technology divide between our middle class suburban families and our urban/rural working poor. We have to acknowledge that for many families, the school building and the heroes that work there are a lifeline. For many children, it is the only place where they are seen and heard. For many more, school is where they are fed – both literally and emotionally. We must understand that much of the trepidation educators and advocates feel is compounded by the concern for our most vulnerable. I hesitated to even initiate this extremely complex and layered topic, but we cannot discuss education without addressing the disparities that exist. We will shed light on these issues in detail soon.
We can discuss & debate, but please do not judge – ourselves or others. There are no “right” answers here.
Give Grace in the Time of COVID.
We will never be the same Post-COVID-19. As we seek to survive this ongoing pandemic, we must adjust our expectations and realize that what was may be changed forever. That is okay. Allow yourself to be flexible and to grow. Look inside yourself to find the grace for others and for yourself.
PS – I am finishing this through tears after re-reading the Detroit News article about my dear friend *Monica’s life, cut way too short by this frightening virus. So I, again, ask of you — please . . . Give Grace in the Time of COVID.
We so excited for the BRIDGE Bilingual Business Expo & Networking Event today 5:30-7:30 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel – Farmington Hills!
If you haven’t bought your ticket, use Promo Code BRIDGE for $5 off your ticket! Price is $20 at the door so save by pre-registering! may29networkingexpo.eventbrite.com
Here is our line-up:
Business Expo
Accounting Aid Society
Clean Up Time, LLC
Young Living
Artesanía Textíl
Hola Google
National Microloan Conference
Better Business Bureau
Michigan Healthy
Perk Pros LLC
KDG SWEET DELITE LLC
Salsas Mexia
B Intentional
CVG MARKETING, LLC
Bilingual Communications Solutions LLC
Raymond James
AproMex
Centro Cultural Hispano
NUMU Softoys
Latino Pres
Explosiva 1430
Marma G Creation
Featherstone Moments
Blue Order
Emmy’s Creations
Tequila Cabresto
Latino Press
Alliance Catholic Credit Union
Puente Cultural
New Metro Construction LLC
Greater Farmington Area Chamber of Commerce
Orange Theory Fitness
We are so grateful to our partners at the Greater Farmington Area Chamber of Commerce, Red Global MX – Capítulo Detroit, Latino Press, the Farmington Voice, and La Explosiva Radio 1480 AM who will be transmitting live from the Expo!
See you at the Crowne Plaza Farmington Hills at 5:30pm for networking and a sample of a Tequila Cabresto margarita!
If you haven’t bought your ticket, use Promo Code BRIDGE for $5 off your ticket! Price is $20 at the door so save by pre-registering! may29networkingexpo.eventbrite.com
